


Ain't no car too smart for me

by LilyRosePotter



Category: Pod Save America (RPF)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Multi, OT3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2017-12-07
Packaged: 2019-02-11 15:34:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12938310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilyRosePotter/pseuds/LilyRosePotter
Summary: prompt fill: OT3, "you can go first"Lovett doesn’t know enough about cars to keep his car from breaking down in the middle of the road, there’s no way he can tell if the engine is going to explode. And now Tommy is also leaning in under the hood, they’re both going to get blown up and Jon’s just going to be standing here helplessly.





	Ain't no car too smart for me

**Author's Note:**

> keep it secret keep it safe etc etc

In retrospect, it was inevitable. There’s a reason neither of them has gotten in Lovett’s car since the morning after the 2016 election and that abstinence has not led to a change in his car maintenance habits. But they’d all been running late this morning and Lovett’s car was last in the driveway after he’d come home late last night. On their way out the door, Tommy had put up a few token protests, but they’d made it to the meeting and then back to the office without incident. It’s on the way home when the Jeep starts to make a concerning noise and the engine sputters to a stop. 

Jon’s impressed, honestly, at how well Lovett keeps his cool when the engine cuts out. Tommy sits up abruptly from where he’s half asleep in the backseat to sharply instruct him to put the car in neutral and steer to the side of the road, but Lovett’s already shifted gears and stops on the curb with more grace than Jon would ever have been able to achieve. He feels like his heart is beating a million miles a minute and when Lovett turns from the wheel to lock eyes with him he sees the same panic reflected in his eyes. 

“Holy fucking shit Lovett what did you do to your car?” Tommy asks, breaking the stunned silence. His voice is level but there’s a dangerous edge to it. Jon tenses as Lovett shoves the door open without replying, the set of his shoulders betraying his own frustration. He stomps around to the front of the car and the sound of the back door alerts Jon that Tommy is following him. He opens his own door quickly and makes it to the curb just in time to see Lovett pop the hood. 

A cloud of smoke immediately rises directly into his face. Holy shit the car is on fire. The car is on fire and Lovett is leaning further in toward the engine. Jon’s heart is going to beat out of his chest. “Lovett, be careful, it might explode!” 

“It’s not going to explode.” Lovett mutters at him crossly, which is not reassuring, especially when his entire face and body are now covered with soot like a chimney sweep in Mary Poppins. Lovett doesn’t know enough about cars to keep his car from breaking down in the middle of the road, there’s no way he can tell if the engine is going to explode. And now Tommy is also leaning in under the hood, they’re both going to get blown up and Jon’s just going to be standing here helplessly. 

“Take a breath Favreau.” Tommy says, reaching an exploratory hand into the engine. “It’s not on fire, it’s not going to explode.” He pulls the oil dipstick out of the tube and squints at it before wiping it off on his t-shirt and checking the oil. “Jesus Christ Lovett, when’s the last time you got an oil change?” 

Lovett glares at him through the dirt. “It’s… it’s been a while. I don’t know. I’ve been a little busy starting a juggernaught media company.”

“And driving a death trap…” Tommy mutters darkly, poking around in the car. “I think I can fix it enough to get home and then you are not driving this thing again until a mechanic crawls all over it.” 

“Don’t tell me what to do.” Lovett replies automatically which is only going to make Tommy angrier and is also a lie. Lovett loves it when Tommy tells him what to do. “You can get all superior about car maintenance if you want. Have fun chauffeuring me.” 

Tommy ignores him in favor of twisting something in the engine. Lovett takes a step back to glare at his head. This cannot possibly end well, but then again, Jon thinks, how many car breakdowns in the heat of summer in Los Angeles end well, especially when two people as prone to fighting past each other as Tommy and Lovett are involved. 

“Jon, can you go to the gas station at the end of the block and see if they have like a quart of oil?” Tommy straightens up and Jon almost laughs at how much oil and grime he’s managed to get on himself. Lovett makes a noise of assent and moves towards the curb and Tommy shakes his head. “No, there’s no way you can find the right stuff. Favs?” 

A better man would probably stay and try to defuse the bomb that Tommy just lit. Jon takes the excuse to get out of the confrontation and practically runs down the block. However, he’s not quite fast enough to miss Lovett’s rising shout. “Are you fucking kidding me, you condescending dick!”

When Jon gets back to the car, oil in hand, Lovett has retreated to the curb where he’s determinedly looking away from Tommy as his shoulders shake with rage. Jon can’t see his face, but he’s pretty sure he’s crying. Tommy’s head is buried in the engine. Another time, Jon would take a minute to appreciate the great view of his ass. Instead he just wordlessly hands over the container and squeezes Tommy’s shoulder briefly before moving to sit next to Lovett. 

Jon hopes they resolve this quickly. It’s been a while since they’ve had a blow up this bad, but this situation has all of the elements of a prolonged disaster waiting to happen. Lovett is frequently a walking human disaster but he hates being called on it when his disorganization has led to actual consequences. Jon knows that Tommy is just freaked out about not being able to control their safety and if he stopped to think about it, Lovett would probably know that too. But freaked out Tommy, in addition to being very industrious about fixing things, can very quickly cross the line to mean, and all Lovett’s been hearing is judgement and derision. 

The tightness of Lovett’s shoulders is just beginning to loosen and he’s leaning back against Jon’s shoulder when Tommy pops his head out from the car. “Lovett give me your keys, I think it should get us home now. I’m driving.” 

“Of course you are, master and commander.” Lovett mutters as he chucks his keyring at Tommy’s face. Luckily it goes slightly wide and Tommy’s coordinated enough to catch it easily, before slamming the hood and turning away. Lovett’s shoulders drop as he climbs into the backseat, grumbling as he goes. Jon sighs and gets in the passenger seat. This is going to be a long night.

Tommy cautiously turns the key and, wonder of wonders, the engine starts. Despite the tension, Jon can’t suppress a small whoop of excitement. “Please don’t drop out of the company to become a mechanic.”

“Don’t pretend you wouldn’t be into me as a greasemonkey.” Tommy retorts with a slight smile before turning his focus to carefully steering down the street. The car holds up until Tommy parks it on their street rather than pulling in the driveway. He turns it off and they all exit rapidly. 

Lovett makes it to the door first and makes a grumpy noise when he realizes he doesn’t have a key to open it. Jon puts a hand on his shoulder and reaches over him to slide his key in the lock. When they separate to go inside he looks down to see that the hand he’d touched Lovett with is covered in soot. “God you need to go shower, you’re covered in engine smoke.” He turns to examine the oil and soot covering Tommy’s entire person. “Both of you do.” 

Both of them murmur quietly in response, but neither moves. Jon’s pretty sure they haven’t made eye contact in the past half hour. Lovett finally moves to make an exaggerated gesture waving Tommy out of the room. Tommy takes a couple steps towards the stairs before pausing and turning around. “Nah. You can go first.” 

Lovett scoffs at him without looking up from his feet. “You’re the hero fixer man. I’m just the idiot who can’t keep his fucking car running as you have made quite clear. Don’t patronize me now to score more nobility points.”

“I’m not…” Tommy sighs and moves across the room to Lovett. “I don’t think you’re an idiot and I’m not trying to score points.” 

He reaches out and uses two filthy fingers to lift Lovett’s chin so that they’re finally looking at each other. “I do hate that you don’t take better care of your car. What if that had happened when you were driving on the highway and you’d gotten in an accident when the engine failed? What if next time it makes a funny noise that you don’t get checked out it does end up catching fire? Jon, there are so many things that can go wrong with cars even when you take care of them and drive them carefully. It makes me crazy that you take so many risks.”

“Oh.” Lovett swallows. “I’m sorry?” He offers tentatively. 

“You don’t need to be sorry, just… be more careful, okay? I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.” At that the last tense lines in Lovett’s face fade away and he leans into Tommy’s chest. Tommy turns his head to make eye contact with Jon where he’s watching them carefully. Jon lifts an eyebrow expectantly and Tommy rolls his eyes. “And I’m sorry I yelled at you. That was the opposite of helpful and was totally a dick move.” 

“Apology accepted.” Lovett’s already got a smug look in his eyes as he pulls back and wags his eyebrows suggestively. “So we could just… both shower first?” Tommy laughs and Lovett turns to Jon. “You can come too, you conflict-averse stressball.”

Jon sighs with relief and follows his boys up the stairs as Lovett, freed from sulking, delves into his own appreciation of Tommy’s mechanic capability and Tommy turns bright red under the grease.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm always screaming about these idiots on tumblr @everyonewillsee


End file.
